This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-276579 filed on Sep. 12, 2000, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer, and particularly to an ink jet type printer. The present invention also relates to an image supplying apparatus for supplying image data to the printer, and a printing system such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a word processor and a digital camera, each of which is integral with or separate from a printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet printing method is advantageous in that actuating noise is sufficiently low to the extent that can be ignored, and in being capable of high-speed recording, and thus is currently becoming preferred among recent printing methods. In such a printing method, there is an ink jet printing head which uses thermal energy on ink to cause ink ejection from ejection openings to perform printing. In an ink jet printing head, the ejection openings can be arranged with high density and colorizing can be easily achieved, resulting in a printer capable of printing an excellent high-resolution image achieved in high-speed. Therefore, a printer using such an ink jet printing head is employed widely as an image output terminal for many devices, such as copying machines, facsimile machines, word processors, computer systems and digital cameras.
As applications of such ink jet printer expand, various kinds of image forming modes to the printing medium are required, for instance, an image forming mode in which a full page printing is made without margin along the edge of the printing medium is also one of the examples.
In the conventional ink jet printers, when performing full page printing on the printing medium, there may be an ejection of inks beyond the printing medium due to the relative unevenness of scanning (main scanning and sub scanning) between the printing head and the printing medium, or an error regarding the size of the printing medium. In such circumstances, some of the conventional printers employ absorption materials, for example pads, for absorbing inks ejected beyond the printing medium, thereby preventing a soilure of an interior of the printer caused by inks. However, in order to make the absorbable amount sufficiently large, the capacity of the interior of the printer has to be made large enough for the absorbing materials, resulting in a problem making the printer a compact size. This problem is particularly acute when the printer is incorporated into equipment such as a digital camera.
It is strongly needed to prevent printing beyond the printing medium not only in view of filling the demand for compact sizing but also in view of reducing a loss of inks (printing agent) as one of the resources for the printers.
The present invention is made considering the above.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for forming an image by using printing means for applying printing agent to a printing medium, the printer comprising:
judging means for judging whether a printing to an edge portion of the printing medium is performed; and
reducing means for reducing an amount of the printing agent to be applied to the edge portion when the judgement is affirmative.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container for storing printing media to be fed to a printer, the container comprising means for indicating the information relating to size of the printing medium being stored therein, and wherein the printer having:
means for judging whether a printing to an edge portion of a printing medium is performed on the basis of the indicated information relating to the size of the printing medium and the information of an image forming mode appointed to the printing medium to be printed; and
means for reducing an amount of the printing agent to be applied to the edge portion when the judgement is affirmative.
In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data supplying apparatus for supplying an image data to a printer which forms an image by using printing means for applying a printing agent to a printing medium, the apparatus comprising:
judging means for judging whether a printing to an edge portion of the printing medium is performed; and
reducing means for reducing an amount of the printing agent to be applied to the edge portion when the judgement is affirmative.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system comprising:
a printer for forming an image by using printing means for applying printing agent to a printing medium; and
an image data supplying apparatus for supplying an image data to the printer, the apparatus having:
judging means for judging whether a printing to an edge portion of the printing medium is performed; and
reducing means for reducing an amount of the printing agent to be applied to the edge portion when the judgement is affirmative.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data supplying method for supplying an image data to a printer which forms an image by using printing means for applying a printing agent to a printing medium, the method comprising the steps of:
judging whether a printing to an edge portion of the printing medium is performed; and
reducing an amount of the printing agent to be applied to the edge portion when the judgement is affirmative.
With the above stated structure, the amount of printing agent such as inks applied to the edge portion of the printing medium is reduced, thereby achieving a reduction of the application amount (ink overflow amount and the like) of the printing agent ejected beyond the printing medium.
The above and other objects, effects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.